Friday, November 18, 2011

Whew! We are back from our amazing, wonderful, self-indulgent, downright FUN vacation to San Francisco. I'm finally winding down from the chaos that vacation brings, both before and after the trip, and I've been home for 5 days. Vacations will do that to you, no? When I think that this time last week I was in a state of bliss from the incredible day I spent driving the coast with my Honey, I want to go right back and forget about reality. But alas...reality is always here, even if we forget about it for a while. While I absolutely love my life, my home, and my city, there's just nothing like traveling. I love this photo, because it captures exactly how I felt that day, and how much we both enjoyed our trip. Can't wait to go back!

Just a taste of the awesomeness (is that a word?) of Highway 1.

Now on to my project for today! (If you can focus your thoughts away from the crashing waves, the cool rock formations, the sea air, and the peace that comes from all of that.)

I was cleaning out my small linen closet a month or so ago. This is also where I store my vacuum cleaner, and I realized that when we moved in over a year ago, I actually took all of my vacuum attachments, stuck them in a plastic bag, and hung them on a nail in the closet. Yes...it looks very cool and is super-organized, as you might have guessed. (Wrong.) But that's what you do when you move in and things like vacuum attachments that you NEVER use need a home.

So in that cleaning moment, I decided to whip up a simple drawstring bag so they could STILL hang in that closet, only looking just a little bit better AND I would know what was actually INSIDE the bag once every 2 years when I have occasion to look for those things.

I came up with this drawstring bag:

I used scraps leftover from the Stick Ponies I made for my kiddo's birthday party this summer. I also used scrap ribbon for the drawstring. Now..I wanted it labeled somehow, but since I don't have the super cool Silhouetter or some other e-cutter, I improvised. I used a scrap piece of vinyl that I had left over from my Trick or Treat Photo Hanger . I cut it to the size I wanted, then printed out a label on white cardstock.

I pinned it down, and machine-stitched around it. Voila! Who says I need a Silhouetter? (Okay, I'm just trying to make myself feel better, but bear with me!)

Now my attachments have a home...a LABELED home...and they can live in their ne'er used state in happiness.

Don't you love easy, free projects? If I get to sew, I'm happy. How about you?

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

I actually made this several months ago, and now plan to give it to my daughter's teacher for Christmas. I saw the fabric on clearance one afternoon and picked up some without knowing what I would use it for. This is a nice little carry-all bag, and I love the studious owls!

I cut all the squares for both the inside and outside of the bag with my Cuttlebug, using my Stampin' Up Scallop Square Die. I love the rag quilt look that it creates. You can check out some of my other scallop projects by looking under Scallop Square Die in my sidebar.

This is a very soft and squishy bag, but also boxey. I lined the bottom with 2 pieces of cereal box cardboard (adhered together), then made a matching sleeve to go over it. (If Vera Bradley can put cardboard in the base of her bags, so can I - hee, hee.)

I added the little wallet/pouch much later. It's extremely simple and very handy. I have one myself that I don't use for money, but I keep it in my purse just to house my craft store coupons! (I was tired of fishing them out, and since I'm at the craft store A LOT, it really comes in handy. Can I get an amen?!)

The top just folds down...over your coupons. :)

Then I just recently added this little coffee cozy, after seeing the tutorial over at Skip to my Lou . It was VERY easy to follow, and it used up the remaining small pieces of owl fabric I had left over. I'm not sure my daughter's amazing teacher even drinks coffee, but it's too cute to not add in!

Cute, no? My "button" on the cozy is actually a cloth covered brad. It was the only thing I had lying around that matched! :)

So here's the final set....

We will probably add some scrapbooking supplies to the bag (she loves to scrapbook, just like I do!), and possibly a small gift card in the pouch. I hope she loves it!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Hubby has been a few times for work, but it will be my first trip out there and I'm giddy.

And with good reason! Not only are we going to a place we've been talking about seeing together for YEARS, but we are also going without the kiddo (as precious as she is), and on our FIRST REAL ACTUAL vacation since she was born 7 years ago. Yes we've had wonderful weekend getaways, but still within a few hours of home.

This will be 4 days of childless bliss! No packing bags for little ones, no one to feed or take to the bathroom except ourselves! Carrying around only what WE need...which, when you think about it, is next to nothing. (Do you remember those days of taking very little wherever you went? You know, no band-aids, water bottles, snacks, etc.? Let alone those days of diaper bags!)

And let me tell you, we will miss her like crazy...this I know. We will be so thrilled to get back to her, but in the meantime we will be partying like rockstars I tell you! :)

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I plan to buy BAGS of Ghirardelli trolleys, and eat fresh grilled salmon like they are almost extinct!

The weather looks like rain, rain, rain while we are there, but we will still make the best of it. We'll do it all soaking wet if we have to, but it will be the best time no matter what. Hangin' with my man is still the most fun I could ever have...even after almost 20 years together!

Happy Creating while I'm away!

As always, thanks for stopping by and have fun with your own sig other this week...even if it's a

Saturday, November 5, 2011

I have only a couple of weeks of Fall decor left before my hubby takes over for Christmas! (He doesn't actually take over, but he does decide WHEN the holiday decor goes up because he's nuts about it, LOL!) So after I take down the Candy Corn Bunting , I string this cute and easy Felt Garland along my staircase. It's so simple to make, and adds a nice touch to any area.

{You need}:

felt

marker

leaf pattern(s) to trace

jute twine

thread, scissors, etc.

I cut the leaves out of felt, 2 sides for each leaf, using a pattern I found through Google. (Any leaf pattern will do just fine.) Then I machine sewed them together down the middle, and randomly added 'vein' lines to each one. (There was no rhyme or reason to it...I just went with what I thought looked good...so don't bother with planning out your veins. They probably look better just going willy-nilly anyway!)

After I sewed together all the leaves I needed, then I hand-stitched a long strand of jute twine to the back of each one. I wish I had pics to show you, but I basically estimated about how far apart I wanted my leaves to be in relation to where I knew I would be hanging it. Then I pinned my leaves to the strand of jute twine and took a second look. Once I was happy with the placement, then I put 5-6 stitches in the back of each leaf to secure the twine. I stitched the twine just to the back side of each leaf, so from the front you can't tell how the leaves are attached at all.

That's it! Very, very simple.

Can you disregard the little green man sitting on the stairs? He must have been in some kind of time out. :)

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Hope you all had a fun and spooky Halloween! My kiddo was a bit down with a low-grade fever, but we managed just fine and she came home with oodles of goodies that will rot her teeth and her mind. :) I'm sad to be taking down all of our spooky decor this next week, but I gotta...because hubby (who is National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation crazy about Christmas) will be taking over for the holidays in just a few short weeks.

In the meantime, I wanted to share a second jelly roll bag I made...and this one I actually DO need! Remember my first jelly rolly, and this cute purse I came up with? I really needed a bigger bag for all-day type functions...you know, when you need a little more than will go in a purse (my purse anyway), but not enough for a backpack?

Here's what I came up with, and it was perfect for our trip to the Zoo Boo last weekend. I {love} the colors and patterns in this jelly roll!

I added a snap, as well as pockets on both sides of the interior. I also used heavier weight interface to give it a little more durability.

The pockets on the left are divided, for cell phone and keys. The one on the right is a larger single pocket.